GTP Cool Wall: 1986-1989 Porsche 959

1986-1989 Porsche 959

  • Total voters
    148
  • Poll closed .
GranTurismo916

GranTurismo916

15,465
United States
Orange County, NY
GTP_GT916
Nii916
1986-1989 Porsche 959 nominated by @SomePlayaDude
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Engines: 2.8L Twin Turbo F6
Power: 450 hp
Torque: 370 lb-ft.
Weight: 1450 kg
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Drivetrain: Rear engine, four wheel drive
Body Styles: 2-door coupe​
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It's a hypercar that doesn't care it's a hypercar. As a result, it comes within just a whisker of being sub zero.

But it's not. Why? Because at the end of the day it's a bloated 911 for the yuppie set, and there's no way I can call that cool.
 
Man, I'm struggling. Between Cool and Sub-Zero.

This is one of the legends of the 1980's supercar era. Once a Group B rally car, it eventually became a autobahn stormer with one sole objective; breaking the 300 km/h mark. Eventually it did do the Dakar, but the point still stands. Pretty it is not, but this is a car where the function overcomes the form design-wise. When there's a F40, there will be also a 959. This car is legendary, regardless of yuppies and Bill Gates. It's a legend.

And legends are nothing short of Sub-Zero. I'll give it to you, 959.
 
I do like the 959, both for the rarity and the technology which - at the time - was incredibly advanced.

I'm still getting dragged towards uncool though. If you want to do things properly, then I'm afraid this can't touch an F40 or a Countach QV for '80s awesomeness.
 
Normally supercars aren't cool.

However, it's rather understated. Especially these days, most would just think it's an old 911.

It's also incredibly fast, from the turbo crazed 80's. It was one of the few cars to come close to the F40 at the time. (Yes I know the F40 came later but you know what I mean)

It was also groundbreaking, setting design trends which last to today.

And finally, unlike most glam supercars, this thing raced. Not only that, it RALLY raced, something that only a few Lancias can match when it comes to supercars racing on dirt. That's a very special list.

It was a German car with passion, which is something not normally found unless you're driving a Carrera GT or possibly an i8.

It also looks really well proportioned in my opinion.

Future Classic, even though it already sort of is one. Gets rid of all the issues of supercars being uncool for the most part these days. Most people who wanted to show off would not spend so much money to buy a 30 year old Porsche with almost no adornments.

Sub zero.
 
Uncool.

Ugly is the first word that comes to my mind whenever I think of this car and that's a bad start. Gains some points for being a rally homologation which is an interesting discipline for a supercar that became the fastest in the world for a short period.
 
The polar opposite of the F40 in many many ways.

But in regard to how it is.. it's a delicious mousse, if the Ferrari is say.. an apple crumble.
 
Willy-waving, overweight, overcomplicated, rich man's toy.

But... it won the Paris-Dakar. And not as a tube-frame silhouette car, (ergo: NASCAR on dirt) but as an actual 959.

Also, F40 rivalry. Sub-zero by association... even if it was nowhere near as quick on the racetrack.
 
It's a difficult car to judge. On the one hand, it defined the decade just as much as its Ferrari counterpart. It was the first Porsche that showed Porsche can play in the big leagues. It did so without being so over the top and unlivable as some of its contemporaries (Countach). And Porsche even went so far as to prove that the car wasn't just a tech showpiece (*cough cough* Nissan *cough cough*) and could back up its performance in formal competition, albeit mostly unorthodox competition since the endurance racer was mostly a failure.








On the other hand, it never really achieved the performance claims Porsche said it could without humongous asterisks that Porsche took great pains to hide. It was as amazingly civilized as a contemporary 911 Carrera because it basically was a contemporary 911 Carrera with a ton of expensive stuff on it. And far and away the most infamous owner of the car was this man:

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Now, I'm not necessarily saying that Porsche is to blame for the original release of Windows 98, or Seinfeld going off the air; but it's awful suspicious that Gates, Allen and Seinfeld finally got their impounded 959s around that time.





Uncool. Perhaps seriously so.
 
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An amazing supercar and I don't care that supercars are uncool usually, I'm voting Sub-zero and that's the end of it.

I mean, it's a hypercar that doesn't care that it's one like Roger said earlier, but unlike Roger; I don't see it as a bloated 911. It looks less bloated than the 911 if anything. It's also quite an understated supercar.
 
Meh. Too complicated and heavy for homologation special it was. Also, due to all the new tech in it, it was also rather probe to breaking down. And the final straw is that it's the first bearer of the bland early 90's 911 styling. I'm looking at you, 993.
 
Illegal in the U.S., that Seinfeld and friends had trouble figuring out how to get there 959's here...makes me want to go uncool. The fact was it was probably the original Super car of the modern era (in my book), makes me want to put it at SZ...

I'll have to debate with myself on this.

EDIT:

The car is cool for the tech and power, but that has more to do with me liking it. I don't think a car that brought about a beneficial yet still sticky and confusing law like Show and Display makes it particularly cool considering it's still a grey market car with a fancy permit that could be revoked or even limited further at any time...unless the car is 25 years or older at the time of import which these weren't when first started.
 
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LMSCorvetteGT2
Illegal in the U.S., that Seinfeld and friends had trouble figuring out how to get there 959's here...makes me want to go uncool. The fact was it was probably the original Super car of the modern era (in my book), makes me want to put it at SZ...

I'll have to debate with myself on this.
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Well atleast it wasn't subject to the American Bumper treatment.
 
This thing is damn hard to judge... It's either Sub-Zero or Seriously Uncool.

It's Sub-Zero because it's the father of all modern supercar technology back in the 80's. It has status, it's understated, it's rare, it's superb to own and drive as daily car and not a museum piece. Also, has rallying pedigree because it is an homolgation. All sumed up, a legend

But then, there's the other side of the coin, it's a supercar afterall and it's nothing more than a 911 filled with expensive technology, stupid body kit (although, as I said before, I like it) and more power. And the most infamous owner was a tech guru. And, those, well, aren't cool at all, no matter how nice they are.

I can't settle with a Meh, because it isn't that boring. Or at least it's interesting enough because it's ground breaking.

This time I'll go for Sub-Zero due to legendary status and matching, at some extent, F40 levels of cool due to their rivalry.
 
A part of me admires the subtlety of what is essentially a rally-bred supercar from a time when flare was all the rage. Another part hails the contemporary styling which also helped set it apart from other performance cars which ended up looking awfully outdated a decade later, including the 911 on which it's based (perhaps even the 993).

However, the production models look hideous in anything other than silver. Such a subtle signature colour does wonders, really.

Cool, on balance.
 
It's an uglier 993 Turbo, but it had technology on it that is now seen in many cars today (ABS, tyre pressure monitoring etc), and for the short time being the fastest production car in the world, it made an impact both on the road and in rallying. Also, Boris Becker maxed his one on the autostrada.

Cool.
 

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